To most people Volvo’s image is about as sporty as a room full of grandmothers, and safe and staid are terms more readily associated with the brand.
But the Swedish carmaker has in recent years taken steps to alter this perception with a series of high-performance turbo models and, more recently, by introducing an R-Design package which applies some visual venom and chassis upgrades. Now get ready for Polestar, which is a software engine upgrade that hikes the power of almost any Volvo by around ten percent, and will become available in South Africa in around two months’ time.
The power-optimisation package is developed by the Polestar tuning firm which, like Volvo, is based in Gothenburg and has been preparing Volvos for racing circuits since 1996. Priced at an estimated R10 000 – R15 000 depending on model, the performance package can be installed by any Volvo dealer and takes less than a day, and can be carried out in conjunction with a regular service. Polestar-equipped cars still come with the standard factory warranty and Volvo says the extra performance doesn’t increase fuel consumption.
Apart from quicker acceleration, the performance package also improves the car’s abilities when overtaking, on long uphill gradients or towing heavy trailers.
To illustrate its sportier new demeanour, Volvo South Africa last week hosted a performance day where journalists were given the chance to drive R-Design versions of the recently-launched S60 sedan and V60 stationwagon around the Kyalami racetrack. At our disposal were the T5 and T6 derivatives as well as a T6 with the Polestar kit.
With a healthy 224kW and 440Nm produced by the turbocharged 3-litre petrol engine in standard form, the T6 cars were the pick of the litter and it felt good to let them loose in an environment where there were no speed limits or minibus taxis to worry about. The engine is the best part of the package with its healthy pulling power and free-revving nature. The S60 chassis isn’t quite up to scratch when pushed to its limits on a racetrack, however, with the all-wheel drive car developing early understeer and lots of brake fade.
If anything it proved that, despite Volvo proclaiming the S60 and V60 to be its sportiest models ever, the Swedish brand isn’t yet ready to compete with German rivals Audi, BMW and Mercedes in outright driveability and handling.
Admittedly most Volvo owners won’t be chasing around race circuits and the understeer-biased handling is the safer option on public roads.
What the track session did illustrate was the effectiveness of Volvo’s Advanced Stability Control in corners. With a new roll-angle sensor, ASC identifies any skidding tendency at a very early stage and steps in to save over-enthusiastic drivers from ending up in the roadside scenery.
All S60s and V60s also have a standard City Safety feature where the car automatically applies emergency braking when detecting an imminent collision.